Dufresne, Deconstructed

Trailblazing chef Wylie Dufresne, known for challenging the public’s definition of simple dishes like eggs Benedict (his “Stairway to Heaven”), recently opened Alder, a new gastro pub in the East Village that’s spent the better part of this month slinging liquefied pub cheese and deconstructed Caesar salads for the masses. Perhaps because those culinary chemistry projects alone can’t sate the Rhode Island native’s appetites, he’s also using WD-50’s 10-year anniversary as an excuse to re-do his original restaurant’s menu. “I respect what ‘Stairway to Heaven’ has done for me,” he recently told The New York Times. “But I’m doing this for creative reasons.” In the midst of his epic culinary upheaval, we asked Dufresne to document his personal meals and menu development at Alder and WD-50. Herewith, the chef’s delicious iPhone shots of everything from chicken-liver toast to his mother-in-law’s popovers.

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Menu development for Alder in November 2012. Playing with the idea of port-wine cheese!